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Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 166, NO. 2 | Wednesday January 14, 2009
InDEX
2 · News Digest
4 · Opinion
5 · Lifestyle
8 · Classifieds
10 · Crossword
12 · Sports
Titanic Reunion: Winslet
and DiCaprio reconnect on
the big screen. PAGE 5
Staying in School: Taylor Mays,
C.J. Gable and Josh Pinkard will
return to USC next season. PAGE 12
Brandon Hui | Daily Trojan
Immobile · An automobile sits in the Century apartments parking lot after its tires were slashed. DPS officials say at least
seven vehicles were vandalized in two parking lots over winter break, though the exact date of the crime is unknown.
By Rohan Venkataramakrishnan
Daily Trojan
Fraternities planning on a week of parties as part of
their “pre-rush” activities are facing significant changes
this semester after the Interfraternity Council set new
guidelines for The Row.
The IFC, along with fraternity presidents, has created
“Welcome Back Nights,” a series of official events for fra-ternities
that come with a number of new restrictions.
The events will be held on Wednesday and Thursday,
and all parties will be monitored by the IFC. Hard alcohol
is prohibited and beer must be distributed in cans. There
will also be ID checks at the door, ensuring that all party-goers
are USC students of drinking age.
Pre-rush began as an informal way for fraternity mem-bers
to meet potential pledges, but became a biannual
open-house, allowing students from all over campus to
attend parties throughout the week on The Row.
“Over the past few years pre-rush has become the sort
of unofficial event that everyone still knows about,” said
Gabe Worgaftik, vice president for public relations for the
IFC. “The Welcome Back Nights will now serve as a broth-erhood
development event, where everyone can be safe
and still have a good time.”
The IFC will monitor the changes, and Worgaftik said
the organization hopes to use feedback from fraterni-ties,
students, university officials and the Department of
Public Safety to make it a standard part of recruitment.
Worgaftik said the change was made entirely by the
IFC, with no prodding from the University.
“IFC is proud to have a lot of autonomy, and we know
we have to address issues before the school mandates any
changes,” Worgaftik said. “We realized what pre-rush had
become, but everyone still wanted a way to celebrate the
start of the new semester.”
Some fraternity members said the arrangement would
help fraternities without houses recruit new members.
“What IFC is doing in eliminating pre-rush is that
they’re creating a level playing field for fraternities that
aren’t on The Row or don’t have a house,” said Matt Luery,
a sophomore majoring in architecture and member of Phi
Delta Theta. “I know pre-rush was fun for a lot of people,
but this removes the disadvantages that some of us had.”
Some students said they think the change in name will
not alter how pre-rush is typically run.
“It’s not going to affect anything,” said Robby
Compitello, a sophomore majoring in business who is in
a fraternity. “We’re probably going to call it pre-rush un-der
wraps anyways. It’s just a minor change, I think the
University is just making it a little politically correct.”
IFC restricts pre-rush
to cut down
on Row parties
New rules prohibit hard alcohol at parties and
shorten pre-rush activities to two days.
By Laura nelson
Daily Trojan
Residents of Century and Troy apart-ments
returned from winter break to find
multiple students’ car tires slashed in both
of the buildings’ USC-owned parking lots.
According to Department of Public
Safety officials, the exact date and time of
the crimes were not available. DPS Captain
David Carlisle said the case is still under
investigation by the LAPD with no leads or
suspects.
“There were at least five cars that had
tires slashed in the Century apartments,”
Carlisle said. “There were at least two cars
that were similarly vandalized in the park-ing
lot across the street across from Troy.”
Officer Karen Smith of the LAPD Media
Relations said she had no available infor-mation
to provide.
“We suspect that someone could have
had a motive but we need to find that out
for sure,” Carlisle said.
Although DPS has security cameras that
survey the two parking lots, the cameras
may not have been focused directly on the
areas where the crimes were committed,”
Carlisle said.
Students whose vehicles were damaged
said they were upset when they returned
from break to find their tires slashed.
“I never actually saw the tires — it prob-ably
would have made me more mad,” said
Michael Guertin, a sophomore majoring in
business who paid $430 for new tires after
his were ruined. “I was mad that I would
have to pay for new tires.”
Others said they expected DPS security
to be better enforced over break.
“I assumed these would be secure,” said
Xavier Vargas, a sophomore majoring in
history and social sciences. “If it was my
car I’d be really angry.”
Tires slashed in USC parking lots
DPS officials say there are no leads,
and the ongoing investigation has
been handed over to LAPD.
Alexandra Tapley | Daily Trojan
Grandeur · Students walk through the courtyard in the new Lucas
Center. Classes were held in the building for the first time Monday.
By larissa puro
Daily Trojan
After waiting for two years of
construction to be completed, stu-dents
got their first taste of the new
$94 million School of Cinematic
Arts Complex Monday.
Although the building was com-pleted
Dec. 18, classes in the com-plex
started this semester and
many students said they were
pleased with the results.
“The facilities are excellent,”
said Connor Ryan, a graduate
student studying screenwriting.
“From a design standpoint, the
building is giant — dramatic.”
Many students and staff said
they liked the building’s size
in comparison to the old Lucas
Building.
“It’s exciting to have so much
space — we were packed into a
container box with the old build-ing,”
said Jack Epps Jr., chair of the
SCA writing division. “It’s nice to
finally breathe.”
A central location with a court-yard
was an important facet of the
project, said John Zollinger, SCA
assistant dean of communications
and public relations.
“It provides the ability for peo-ple
to get together, to hash out
ideas and to have creative space at
their disposal,” he said.
The new complex features
state-of-the-art facilities, includ-ing
high-tech screening rooms and
editing labs, that put the School
of Cinematic Arts on par with
any professional motion picture
or television studio, said Douglas
Wellman, SCA director of facilities
and operations.
“We have now the latest facili-ties
and equipment so that stu-dents
who leave our program here
can move seamlessly into the pro-fessional
working environment,”
he said.
Some students said they thought
the building reflected the quality
of USC’s cinema program.
“USC is the number one film
school. Now it has a building that
really shows it off,” said Ricky
Nachbar, a sophomore majoring in
critical studies who said he was ex-cited
to be one of the first students
in his editing class to use the new
technology.
With the addition of new tech-nology
came a few mishaps; many
students said they noticed some
technical difficulties with the new
Students welcome new Lucas Center
Despite minor technological
glitches, students say they are
pleased with the building.
| see center, page 2 |

Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 166, NO. 2 | Wednesday January 14, 2009
InDEX
2 · News Digest
4 · Opinion
5 · Lifestyle
8 · Classifieds
10 · Crossword
12 · Sports
Titanic Reunion: Winslet
and DiCaprio reconnect on
the big screen. PAGE 5
Staying in School: Taylor Mays,
C.J. Gable and Josh Pinkard will
return to USC next season. PAGE 12
Brandon Hui | Daily Trojan
Immobile · An automobile sits in the Century apartments parking lot after its tires were slashed. DPS officials say at least
seven vehicles were vandalized in two parking lots over winter break, though the exact date of the crime is unknown.
By Rohan Venkataramakrishnan
Daily Trojan
Fraternities planning on a week of parties as part of
their “pre-rush” activities are facing significant changes
this semester after the Interfraternity Council set new
guidelines for The Row.
The IFC, along with fraternity presidents, has created
“Welcome Back Nights,” a series of official events for fra-ternities
that come with a number of new restrictions.
The events will be held on Wednesday and Thursday,
and all parties will be monitored by the IFC. Hard alcohol
is prohibited and beer must be distributed in cans. There
will also be ID checks at the door, ensuring that all party-goers
are USC students of drinking age.
Pre-rush began as an informal way for fraternity mem-bers
to meet potential pledges, but became a biannual
open-house, allowing students from all over campus to
attend parties throughout the week on The Row.
“Over the past few years pre-rush has become the sort
of unofficial event that everyone still knows about,” said
Gabe Worgaftik, vice president for public relations for the
IFC. “The Welcome Back Nights will now serve as a broth-erhood
development event, where everyone can be safe
and still have a good time.”
The IFC will monitor the changes, and Worgaftik said
the organization hopes to use feedback from fraterni-ties,
students, university officials and the Department of
Public Safety to make it a standard part of recruitment.
Worgaftik said the change was made entirely by the
IFC, with no prodding from the University.
“IFC is proud to have a lot of autonomy, and we know
we have to address issues before the school mandates any
changes,” Worgaftik said. “We realized what pre-rush had
become, but everyone still wanted a way to celebrate the
start of the new semester.”
Some fraternity members said the arrangement would
help fraternities without houses recruit new members.
“What IFC is doing in eliminating pre-rush is that
they’re creating a level playing field for fraternities that
aren’t on The Row or don’t have a house,” said Matt Luery,
a sophomore majoring in architecture and member of Phi
Delta Theta. “I know pre-rush was fun for a lot of people,
but this removes the disadvantages that some of us had.”
Some students said they think the change in name will
not alter how pre-rush is typically run.
“It’s not going to affect anything,” said Robby
Compitello, a sophomore majoring in business who is in
a fraternity. “We’re probably going to call it pre-rush un-der
wraps anyways. It’s just a minor change, I think the
University is just making it a little politically correct.”
IFC restricts pre-rush
to cut down
on Row parties
New rules prohibit hard alcohol at parties and
shorten pre-rush activities to two days.
By Laura nelson
Daily Trojan
Residents of Century and Troy apart-ments
returned from winter break to find
multiple students’ car tires slashed in both
of the buildings’ USC-owned parking lots.
According to Department of Public
Safety officials, the exact date and time of
the crimes were not available. DPS Captain
David Carlisle said the case is still under
investigation by the LAPD with no leads or
suspects.
“There were at least five cars that had
tires slashed in the Century apartments,”
Carlisle said. “There were at least two cars
that were similarly vandalized in the park-ing
lot across the street across from Troy.”
Officer Karen Smith of the LAPD Media
Relations said she had no available infor-mation
to provide.
“We suspect that someone could have
had a motive but we need to find that out
for sure,” Carlisle said.
Although DPS has security cameras that
survey the two parking lots, the cameras
may not have been focused directly on the
areas where the crimes were committed,”
Carlisle said.
Students whose vehicles were damaged
said they were upset when they returned
from break to find their tires slashed.
“I never actually saw the tires — it prob-ably
would have made me more mad,” said
Michael Guertin, a sophomore majoring in
business who paid $430 for new tires after
his were ruined. “I was mad that I would
have to pay for new tires.”
Others said they expected DPS security
to be better enforced over break.
“I assumed these would be secure,” said
Xavier Vargas, a sophomore majoring in
history and social sciences. “If it was my
car I’d be really angry.”
Tires slashed in USC parking lots
DPS officials say there are no leads,
and the ongoing investigation has
been handed over to LAPD.
Alexandra Tapley | Daily Trojan
Grandeur · Students walk through the courtyard in the new Lucas
Center. Classes were held in the building for the first time Monday.
By larissa puro
Daily Trojan
After waiting for two years of
construction to be completed, stu-dents
got their first taste of the new
$94 million School of Cinematic
Arts Complex Monday.
Although the building was com-pleted
Dec. 18, classes in the com-plex
started this semester and
many students said they were
pleased with the results.
“The facilities are excellent,”
said Connor Ryan, a graduate
student studying screenwriting.
“From a design standpoint, the
building is giant — dramatic.”
Many students and staff said
they liked the building’s size
in comparison to the old Lucas
Building.
“It’s exciting to have so much
space — we were packed into a
container box with the old build-ing,”
said Jack Epps Jr., chair of the
SCA writing division. “It’s nice to
finally breathe.”
A central location with a court-yard
was an important facet of the
project, said John Zollinger, SCA
assistant dean of communications
and public relations.
“It provides the ability for peo-ple
to get together, to hash out
ideas and to have creative space at
their disposal,” he said.
The new complex features
state-of-the-art facilities, includ-ing
high-tech screening rooms and
editing labs, that put the School
of Cinematic Arts on par with
any professional motion picture
or television studio, said Douglas
Wellman, SCA director of facilities
and operations.
“We have now the latest facili-ties
and equipment so that stu-dents
who leave our program here
can move seamlessly into the pro-fessional
working environment,”
he said.
Some students said they thought
the building reflected the quality
of USC’s cinema program.
“USC is the number one film
school. Now it has a building that
really shows it off,” said Ricky
Nachbar, a sophomore majoring in
critical studies who said he was ex-cited
to be one of the first students
in his editing class to use the new
technology.
With the addition of new tech-nology
came a few mishaps; many
students said they noticed some
technical difficulties with the new
Students welcome new Lucas Center
Despite minor technological
glitches, students say they are
pleased with the building.
| see center, page 2 |